


The silvertounged fool and his golden hearted king

by Romolus



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Epic, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Knights acting like Merlin's big brothers, M/M, Tragedy, Trauma, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:39:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27980127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Romolus/pseuds/Romolus
Summary: Merlin has known that everything has prize in life, and only the people in power has the means to pay it. He isn't one those people. Gifted with magic and a destiny unknown to him, he is ripped from his mother by a warlord and sold to Cenred to be trained as a sorcerer for his war against the other kingdoms of Albion. There is always a prize to pay, and in a time of war Merlin is the means to tip the scale of power. Too bad no one is fighting for him.
Relationships: Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) - Relationship, Cenred (Merlin) - Relationship, Gaius & Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine/Percival (Merlin), Leon & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Lancelot, Merlin & Percival (Merlin), Merlin (Merlin) - Relationship, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Kudos: 42





	1. Humble beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, yes, a new project how original of me. But on a serious note, I am gonna be working on this work the next 3 years and update regularly with longer in depth chapters and characters will slowly be introduced and worked into the story. This is an alternativ take on what could have happened for Arthur and Merlin had their beginnings been different than they were in the show. Anyway, I hope You all like this.  
> \- Romolus

Every life has a humble beginning. Be it the willful seeds that will grow to a proud harvest or the humble acorn that with the caring hand of time will grow into a wise oak, that gives shelter to all the creatures of the forest. Even legends as the one that is about to unfold, started out humble. It started out with a woman. A woman from the village Ealdor in the young King Cenred’s kingdom. In this little hut of hers, she sat with the bundle of joy that she called son. This was a time in which the only pain she foresaw for her child, was the burden of being a bastard, but the universe has its ways, and this bastards of hers was going to bear a burden heavier than most. The child’s name was Merlin.

v•v•v

“Merlin!” his mother grabs his shoulder and hides him in her embrace as she pulls him into the backyard. She signals him to be quiet and with shaking hands she makes him hide in the wood stack that leans up against their hut. There is a small crack that he is precisely tiny enough to squeeze into quietly. From his hiding spot he can see nothing, but non from the outside can see him either, so only his mum and himself knows where he resides. He can hear the clip clop of hooves against the dirt roads in the villages, and from their heavy breathing Merlin can imagine their frantic eyes, waiting for their rider to guide them through the unfamiliar terrain.

Horses are always a bad omen, even at the mere age of seven winters, Merlin knows this. Only knights and Kanen’s men have horses. Horses only bring bad men that makes his mum cry and takes their rations. Merlin would love nothing more than to make Kanen fly away, with all his evil minions, and the knights too. But magic is not something to use, not when curious eyes and running mouths are present. His mum says that even the walls and trees have ears, which is silly and scary. There are always eyes on him, not just his mother’s loving gaze, but eyes that belongs to greedy souls of men that would love nothing more than to exploit his powers or sell him to highest bidder. Even at this age Merlin understood the concept of danger that the magic inside him brought with it.

Magic cannot exist in this world where it only brings his mother worries and missing fathers, he knows that that is what he should think. But when he is alone, sitting under the oak in the early spring, the magic inside of him only creates friends for the beautiful butterflies that flies around him in a playful dance of the seasons. In the moments of bliss, he feels the earth and moss under him vibrate with life. It’s not tangible, but it is there, in the roots that run from the trees and the air that lays heavy with the smell of bark and moist grass.

The forest and butterflies seem so far away now, with him squished in between wood pieces and the cold air of late autumn filling his lungs. His hands are red from the cold, but he dares not move, hence he should make a sound. The horse’s hooves are quiet, but their riders are not, and neither are the villagers of Ealdor. He can hear the arguing, but not the words. He knows one of the voices, Matthew, he is always nice to Merlin and Will, even when old Tom accuses them of stealing eggs from his chicken coop. They never actually took any eggs, but when an adult accuses you, you rarely get out of the situation without a scolding, but not when it is Matthew, he just reassures old Tom that nothing has been taken and smiles to them. He is a nice man. Not like Kanen.

Merlin has only seen his face once in passing, and it’s a face that can only belong to a man like him, with a rotten soul and violent temper. It’s a face that only suits the likes of a child’s nightmare. But Kanen was as real as any and not just a nightmare but a menace to the villages that lays in the outskirts of Cenred’s kingdom, and the young have never cared for the poor folks, as long as he still owns the land and it isn’t outside kingdoms’ men that attack, then he won’t do anything.

Merlin strains his ears and Matthews voice pierces through.

“We don’t have anything left Kanen, the profit from the harvest this year was meager, we will starve as it is.”

“Then you will starve, but I know you have more to give than this.”

“We have nothing, you’ve- “

“Huni- “

“No, Matthew quiet. We have nothing, you’ve taken everything Kanen.”

Merlin gasps. It is his mother speaking. Curious as any child, he crawls out of his hiding, to get a better look at the confrontation. He is still hidden partially, and he is certain non can see him if he just stays quiet.

His mother his standing with her chin up, her face dirty with sod and mud from working all day, her hands are tightly fisted at her side, and they aren’t shaking. Merlin looks with his mouth slightly agape, admiring his mother that he thinks resembles an angry dragon.

He puts too much weight on his front leg and his foot slips on the muddy ground. He grunts and pushes himself up to meet the eyes of his mother, that in an instant change from being filled with bravery to big and round with a look of terror painting her face. It’s not just the eyes of his mother that is weighen down on him.

Kanen gets down from his horse and sounders towards merlin with his sword drawn, Hunith chokes out a tearful scream, but a few of Kanen’s men are holding her and Matthew back.

Merlin doesn’t move as Kanen lifts his chin with the tip of the sword, pressing it dangerously rough against Merlin’s soft skin. A tickle of blood runs from where the blade meets skin.

“Hunith’s boy I assume.” Kanen smirks and turns to Hunith with a laughter. “Not so brave when your little boy is under the blade huh?”

“Leave him be! He is just a boy!” Hunith is crying. Her body hunched over as she fights against the heaves, her eyes never leave Merlin.

“Don’t worry I won’t hurt him.” Kanen crouches down, removes the sword from Merlin’s chin and clutches it with his strong hands instead. He turns Merlin’s head slowly back and forth, inspecting him as if he was a mouse and Kanen the cat toying with him before the deadly pounce. “After all, I can’t sell damaged merchandises.” This makes his men chuckle and laugh. Hunith on the other hand, tenses up and gets quiet. Her face grows cold and her eyes fills with storm clouds. As quick as any mother would be with their child in danger, she hits one of the men with a fist to the nose and dives for his sword. She manages to get a hold of it and charges at Kanen.

Kanen draws his sword and easily manages to block Hunith’s barbaric swing, he pushes her back when their blades clash and Merlin sits frozen as the scene unfolds. His mother screams so hard that the strain on her voice is clear. But Kanen smiles non the less before the angry mother. The fight is over just like that, with Hunith clutching her bleeding arm, and the sword laying discarded at the side. Kanen points the sword at her, but the finishing blow never comes. The sword’s shaft heats up until it glows, a sizzling of burning flesh can be heard as Kanen yells in pain and drops the sword. He looks angrily towards Hunith, then he follows her gaze to Merlin. He just barely sees the glowing of the boy’s eyes as he turns. A crooked smile mix with his painfilled grimace.

“You got magic boy. No wonder your mother hid you.”

“Please! I’m begging you, let him be! He is just a child Kanen!”

“A child with magic, which is something that would fetch a high prize from any interested party, but a prize too big for you to pay I am afraid.”

“Kane-“

“We’ll take the boy as compensation for the damage and missing payment.” He smiles and turns towards Merlin. Merlin looks to his mother and feels himself starting to heave and tears form in his eyes.

“RUN!” Her mother screeches.

And run he does. He dashes towards the forest with the yells of men not far behind him. Then he hears the horses. Horses are always a bad omen.

“ahhh!” he screams loudly as someone pulls him up by his shoulders, the sound of hooves and yelling floods his senses and everything is thrown into a chaotic jumble of his beating heart and fast flowing blood.

“Sit still or I’ll drop you and the horse will trample you to death.” It isn’t Kanen but one of his men that has pulled Merlin up onto his horse. He is holding Merlin close to his chest as he rides towards the others who are roaring in victory as if Merlin was their hunting prize.

It goes quickly after that. Merlin’s hands and legs are tied with rope, and a cloth bag is loosly tied over his head as to obscure his sight. He screams for his mother, for matthew, anyone to help him. His movements are frantic as he fights against the hands holding him stomach down on the saddle. He can’t hear his mother, only the turmoil of screams and roars, who is yelling what he doesn’t know.

“Let’s get going, I want to set up camp before we look for a buyer.” Says Kanen in an indifferent tone and a low rumble of agreement is heard from the man holding Merlin.

“And make his weeping stop, it is giving me a headache.”


	2. The lonely King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin arrives at the Cenred's halls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, here is the next chapter, cause I couldn't relax before I had it written. Thank you all for all the kudos. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Kanen had kept Merlin bound for hours, the boy had not been quiet and small whimpers of restrained loss had been coming from him since the beginning of the trip. In an attempt to quiet the child, Kanen had yelled and cussed at him, but it had only worsened it. He had then let one of his men, Janus, tend to the boy. The man was big, had battle scars littered all over his face, and long dark hair that was tied in a ponytail. If anything, the man looked scary, intimidating even to the likes of Kanen. Non the less, Janus was the most loyal of them all and he had children of his own, so his brutish heart felt for the youngling in their midst. The child had been reluctant to take comfort from a stranger, who had mere days ago ripped him from his mother’s love and everything that he had.

Kanen scoffed as Janus cleaned Merlins face for mud and sweat with a wet cloth before helping the boy to drink and eat some stale bread.

“Don’t give him too much, we don’t want him to end up spoiled before we sell him”

“None is spoiled by the merest of kindness Kanen.” The man rumbles before ruffling Merlin’s dark locks. Kanen huffs, but doesn’t say more, even he knows when to stop, at least when it comes to Janus.

“Get him back on the horse. We’ll need to ride again if we wish to get a deal done while Cenred is still residing in Essetir.”

“Ah yes, the young king.”

“He is a rather fickle man to find, with all the wars he is battling, it is a miracle that he hasn’t lost the kingdom yet.”

“He has the war gods looking over him.”

“More like sorcerers.” Says Kanen and pulls himself unto his stallion, the others have also gotten up on their steeds, except for Janus who had to help Merlin into the saddle before himself.

Without all the dirt and the cloth bag over his head, Merlin seems less like a spoil of war and more like a child riding with his father. Kanen cringes at the sight, the boy looks so much as his own, and the fate that he is going to be subjected to is not anything Kanen would let his own be victim for. He meets Janus’s steel gaze and nods. The silent agreement between them is clear. It’s too late now, and if anything, the boy won’t suffer starvation, as he would have had he stayed in Ealdor.

“Better just get it over with.” Mumbles Kanen to himself and kicks the horse into a quick paced trot.

v•v•v

Merlin is sore. His hands are red from the cold, his legs feel heavy from all the riding and his movement being restricted by the ropes. All the nicer of the men, the one he is sitting with, has readjusted the ropes, so they aren’t as tight as they were in the beginning, and at night the man had also removed the once on his legs. The man’s actions are confusing to him.

In the distance Merlin can see tall walls of grey bricks and he sits up straighter in the saddle to better be able to see it. Nothing of the likes of it has he ever seen in Ealdor. The wall is at least 3 horses tall, from what Merlin can see. Kanen sees Merlin’s open mouth and wide eyes and laughs at the boy’s wonder.

“It is the works of the last king of Essetir, Cenred’s father.” Says Janus, his voice is low, and Merlin can feel it rumble of the man’s chest on his back. “It has stood for over three decades, countless of foreign soldier have lost their lives at the roots of that wall.” He says this with a tender smile. “I know so, because I was once a guard, standing at the top of said wall. I still hear the screams of those poor sods.”

“You killed people?”

“Yes, as a young soldier it is expected of you, I’m no innocent man boy. You should know so much.”

Merlin simply nods, his small head still not capable to comprehend the concept of killing. Death isn’t something he is unfamiliar with. Many children of Ealdor has died as well as adults. His mother always thanked the gods when Merlin miraculously got healthy after a bad wave of fever spreading through the villages. For some reason he always got lucky, never staying sick for long. Much unlike the other children and the elders. 

When they are close to the wall, Merlin can see that he was far from right at his estimation of its height. It is now clear to him that it is at least five horses tall. He gets dizzy as he gazes up at it when they ride through the big iron barred gates.

People move just barely out of the way as the horses walk through the streets. Janus and the others step down and guides the horses on foot, only Merlin is left in a saddle. His eyes are round and flicker through the masses of people, the sounds of chatter and the smells from the market is overwhelming. He spots an angry donkey that whines loud enough to make him cringe, and as the angry owners small whip hits the donkey he winches as had he been hit himself. He makes eyecontact with the donkey, and a feeling of warmth overtakes him, he reaches out with his bound hands, his eyes glow and as he wished the rope holding the donkey falls looslsy to the ground. The donkey kicks out with its hind legs and throws a thankful nod towards Merlin as it runs in a frenzy through. The streets. Merlin laughs but stops as he is ripped down from the horse and his shoulders are being shaken harshly.

“Boy! Never do that again or gods help me you’ll get a pounding worse than any you’ve had before.” Hisses Kanen, spit flies from his mouth and on to the Merlin. His eyes wide and his mouth open in shock.

“I- I ju-“

“no, never do it again. You are worth a lot but not so much that I’ll let you do reckless stuff like that, that can potentially make me lose money.” Kanen shakes his shoulder again. “Never do it again, understood?”

“Yes.” Merlin mumbles and without another word he is lifted back onto the horse. For the remainder of the ride, he stays quiet and with his head hanging low. His shoulders sore and his childish soul bruised. Silently he doesn’t regret his actions, but like magic his feelings shall stay hidden inside his mind.

v•v•v

“The king will see you now.” A prudish old man in dark clothes and a funny looking hat bows for them and guides them through the dark halls of the castle. Tapestries filled with the king’s banner, that has the motif of a dark horse, litters the halls. Painting it in a blue color. It is Kanen himself that pushes Merlin through these halls, as the others weren’t allowed entrance. Merlin can feel the nervouse energy radiating from Kanen, and it only intensifies the longer they walk. Merlin himself is calm as ever, his mind still trying to catch up on all that has happened in the last span of days. The only thing his child mind seems to be able to focus on is his empty stomach and how he’d wish his mother were here.

“Wait here.” The prudish man with the funny hat, opens a dark oak door and goes behind it, leaving Kanen alone with Merlin. Kanen quickly crouches down and grabs Merlin’s chin to make the boy look him directly in the eyes.

“Listen to me boy, be quiet in there unless spoken to and when spoken to say my lord in the end of your sentences. I have no idea of what manners your heinous mother has taught you, but you better show the king respect if you want to keep that head of yours.”

“King Cenred bids them welcome in his halls.” The prudish man is back, with his silly hat and all. He opens the door wide and lets Kanen and Merlin step into the giant hall. The first thing Merlin notices is all the torches and the lone figure sitting straight on the dark throne. The man has a slight stubble, and a few scars that is partially hidden behind his long dark hair that shadows his face.

“What have you brought me Kanen?”

“A sorcerer my lord.”

The king laughs and smirks arrogantly as he points at Merlin.

“That looks like a mere boy to me, nothing of the likes of a sorcerer.”

“He has magic, my lord, strong magic for someone so young, he needs no spells or charms to make things do as he wish.”

“Really?” the king’s posture changes, and he leans forward looking more interested in Merlin now. “Why demonstrate your powers for me little sorcerer.” Merlin bites his thumb and looks up at Kanen, and when he doesn’t catch the man’s gaze, he looks to the floor and shuffles with his feet.

“mnot allowed.” He mumbles. “my lord.”

“Why yes, you’re allowed. Your king commands you to show your powers.” The king’s tone isn’t unkind, but there is weight unknown to Merlin behind those words. Whatever he chooses to do, Merlin knows that it will decide his future.

“Come on boy.” Hisses Kanen, low enough so the king won’t hear it. Merlin closes his eyes and lets his inner eyes see the butterflies of the forest from Ealdor. He sees their blue wings flicker in the air as the birds chirp around them. The sun is making them glister in its rays of light. He opens his eyes, and the gold overtakes the blue of his iris, blue butterflies sprout from his open palms as rosebuds and they fly out into the dark room.

A loud laughter fills the quiet hall. The king claps his hands loudly and slowly. His face having been overtaken by a gleeful smile.

“Kanen, Kanen. What a sorcerer you have gotten me.”  
  



End file.
